Business news in brief

Campbell Soup Co.

, Camden, said controller

Anthony P. DiSilvestro

would assume the duties of chief financial officer

Robert A. Schiffner

, who is retiring from the company Jan. 31. Campbell said in April that Schiffner would step down as CFO on Aug. 1 and remain with the company for a transition period. DiSilvestro, 49, will report directly to CEO

Douglas R. Conant

until the board of directors names a new CFO, the company said.

- Harold Brubaker

Electronic-instrument-maker

Ametek Inc.

, Paoli, said it had agreed to acquire the programmable-power business of

Xantrex Technology Inc.

for $120 million in cash. Xantrex's division provides supplies that are used to test electrical products for design-verification testing, quality assurance and regulatory compliance by customers in aviation, military and general electronics, Ametek said in a release.

- Chris Mondics

The

Pennsylvania Department of Banking

said Internet payday lenders and other out-of-state lenders to Pennsylvania consumers have until Feb. 1 to get a license under the Consumer Discount Company Act. The act limits the interest and fees that a nonbank lender can charge on loans under $25,000, excluding mortgages. The license is the same as the one companies with stores in the state need to get.

- Harold Brubaker

Philadelphia University

will receive a $1.26 million state grant to establish a textile research and innovation center. The program, to be located at Philadelphia University, will be set up with Drexel University and the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania. The center will develop and test advanced-material systems, mostly textiles, to help growth in biomedical and human-protection applications. The grant will come from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

- Paul Schweizer

General Motors Corp.

said it would cut shifts at plants in Ohio and Louisiana, eliminating 1,760 jobs, as part of its previously announced plan to reduce vehicle production because of weak demand for trucks and sport-utility vehicles. A GM spokesman said the Detroit automaker would eliminate one shift each at its Moraine, Ohio, SUV plant and Shreveport, La., truck plant, cutting production about 117,000 vehicles.

- AP

Shares of

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.

and

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

dropped in Nasdaq Stock Market trading yesterday on investor concern about the companies' subscriber growth and debt. Sirius, which received regulatory approval Friday to buy XM, fell 37 cents, or 16.44 percent, to $1.88. XM declined $1.11, or 11.94 percent, to $8.17. XM said yesterday that it planned to sell $550 million in convertible notes to refinance debt in connection with the company's acquisition by Sirius. In a separate statement, Sirius said it had a narrower second-quarter loss and reported revenue that missed some analysts' estimates.

- Bloomberg News

Motorola Inc.

will reorganize its non-

handset business into three units, the company said. Motorola said in March that it planned to separate the handset business, which has been hurt by a two-year-long decline in cell phone sales, from the home and networks unit. The non-handset business will be organized into these units: TV set-top boxes and modems; voice-oriented cellular network equipment; and wired and wireless broadband network equipment. Motorola has 1,100 employees in Horsham at its cable-television equipment business.

- AP

Private-equity powerhouse

Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co.

said a plan to go public through a takeover of its Amsterdam-listed investment fund gives it access to new markets. That would let it make acquisitions and provide the European shareholders better value. The transaction is a departure from plans announced a year ago by

Henry R. Kravis

and

George R. Roberts

to tap equity markets for up to $1.25 billion through an initial public offering. The plans were hurt by the collapse of credit markets.

- AP

A federal audit says private-security contractor

Blackwater Worldwide

and its affiliates may have misrepresented their size to win more than $100 million in government contracts set aside for small businesses. A report provided by the

Small Business Administration's Office of Inspector General

found that during the fiscal years 2005 to 2007, Blackwater's airline affiliate won more than $107 million in contracts set aside for companies with revenues of less than $25.5 million or 1,500 employees. The report questions whether Blackwater could meet either of the thresholds. The firm declined immediate comment.

- AP

CSX Corp.

saw its credit outlook reduced to "negative" from "stable" by Standard & Poor's Ratings Service, citing victories for two board seats by a pair of activist hedge funds. "The outlook change reflects the longer-term possibility of a change in financial policy to a more aggressive one," S&P said in a statement. CSX, which owns Philadelphia's Conrail with Norfolk Southern Corp., said last week it would seat two board members backed by TCI Fund Management L.L.P. and 3G Capital Partners Ltd., which have pushed CSX to add more debt.

- Bloomberg News

Federal Reserve Governor

Frederic Mishkin

said the central bank should adopt an inflation "goal" and extend forecasts on output growth, unemployment and inflation to at least five years to increase public confidence in the outlook for the economy. The Fed last year doubled the number of annual forecasts and broadened their scope to better inform the public about the Fed's views, but Mishkin said more needed to be

done.

- Bloomberg News